Sküt Deep
Ocean Animal Art Exhibition TAG Gallery April 13 – May 8, 2021
Artist Statement: When I was a kid my dad spent hours with me making animals out of construction paper on the floor. He knew I loved art and nature.
One day he took me and my sister to Marineland of the Pacific, a magical oceanarium in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. My six-year-old imagination ran wild. I saw sharks, dolphins, fish, glowing neon blobs, and alien-looking sea creatures I never knew existed.
There I met Bubbles, a female short-finned pilot whale. Seeing Bubbles leap from the water in a shimmering display of acrobatics blew my mind. She was so beautiful. That moment, seared in my heart, ignited a lifelong passion for the ocean.
I visited Bubbles year after year. She always brought joy to the guests. Children laughed, parents gasped, and everyone got soaked. I took way too many pictures.
The ocean covers 71 percent of Earth’s surface and is home to millions of marine species ranging from microscopic bacteria to massive fauna, many of which are on the brink of extinction. Most of us experience marine creatures at facilities like Birch Aquarium at Scripps, and Aquarium of the Pacific.
I created this immersive art experience to celebrate fauna of the deep by reimagining my favorite wet friends via abstract design, extrasensory dimension, and childlike imagination. Deep pays homage to Bubbles and her oceanic legacy, through a pop art lens. Marineland closed forever in 1987. Bubbles died in 2016. Art lives forever.
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